They said the duties would range from 5%-25% on $60bn worth of US products.

The White House says its tariffs are a response to China’s unfair trade policies, including subsidies and rules that require foreign companies to bring on local partners.

President Donald Trump blames the practices for putting US companies at a disadvantage and helping to create a trade deficit.

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Media captionThe ‘danger’ of a US-China trade war

Talks this spring between the two countries about the matters failed to produce an agreement.

A first round of tariffs came into effect on 6 July, when the US imposed 25% taxes on $34bn of Chinese imports. China retaliated in kind.

Tariffs on another $16bn of products are pending, the second part of tariffs on $50bn worth of imports that the US announced in March.

US threats have escalated since, with the president saying he is ready to impose tariffs on all $500bn of Chinese imports.

In July, the US published a list of $200bn-worth of additional products to be hit with tariffs of 10% – a figure the US is now considering raising to 25%.

In Friday’s announcement, China said it is readying tariffs on US items that include agriculture and energy products, leather and machinery.

Beijing said the timing of the new tariffs would depend on whether the US follows through on its threat.

Trade flows

Concerns about the trade war have already affected China’s currency, which has fallen almost 9% against the dollar since April.

The People’s Bank of China has announced new requirements for certain types of trading in the yuan, measures that are aimed at stabilising the currency.

The tensions are also having an impact on trade flows.

The US trade deficit – the gap between exports and imports – widened by 7.3% to $46.3bn in June. The deficit had narrowed in previous months as companies rushed out exports to beat the imposition of tariffs.

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